Previous articleNext article No AccessMentoring and Schooling Decisions: Causal EvidenceArmin Falk, Fabian Kosse and Pia PingerArmin Falk, Fabian Kosse, and Pia PingerPDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookXLinkedInRedditBlueskyEmailPrint SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Political Economy Just Accepted Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/738484 PermissionsRequest permissions HistoryAccepted August 01, 2023 © 2025 The University of Chicago. All Rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

This study presents evidence on the role of social environment for the formation of prosociality. We show that socioeconomic status (SES) as well as intensity of mother-child interaction and mothers? prosocial attitudes are related to elementary school children?s prosociality. We also present evidence on a randomly assigned variation of the social environment, providing children with a mentor for 1 year. Our data reveal a significant and persistent increase in prosociality in the treatment relative to the control group. Moreover, enriching the social environment closes the prosociality gap between low- and high-SES children. A mediation analysis suggests that prosociality develops in response to prosocial role models and intense social interactions.

This paper explores inequalities in IQ and economic preferences between children from families of high and low socioeconomic status (SES). We document that children from high-SES families are more intelligent, patient, and altruistic as well as less risk seeking. To understand the underlying mechanisms, we propose a framework of how SES, parental investments, as well as maternal IQ and preferences influence a child’s IQ and preferences. Our results indicate that disparities in the level of parental investments hold substantial importance. In light of the importance of IQ and preferences for behaviors and outcomes, our findings offer an explanation for social immobility.